by Blink, Bob
Moments later the small group had disappeared and the Bypass closed behind them. Jeen quickly opened another Bypass toward the nearby oasis, making the entry as close to where Rigo’s Bypass had been as possible. As a group they stepped through. On the far side they set up their defenses.
Jeen, Burke and Tara were positioned close together. If needed, they could Link quickly for added power. They had practiced the Linkage during their trip across the Ruins, and it had become very instinctual and quick. A link could be formed including Diny and Kirl, but they were slower, and speed might be important here. Lorl was an unknown, and this wasn’t the time to be experimenting. That left those three to operate independently if a battle began.
For some time they thought that they had eluded any pursuers, and Jeen hoped they hadn’t been able to detect where Rigo had gone and followed them instead. Then, she saw the first guardsman in his distinctive Sedfair colors, step out of the air into the clearing where their Bypass had deposited them half a glass earlier. There was no longer any question that Fen had been correct. Somehow, their Bypass portals could be followed. She tensed and waited. There was little to gain by revealing their presence to take out a single enemy guardsman.
Suddenly there were more. A dozen, then a full two dozen. Some had swords, but most were armed with crossbows. Lorl had warned her about the arrows, indicating they used some form of magic to make the bolts resistant to magic. She wondered why there were no wizards, then suddenly realized they had opened a second Bypass some fifty paces to one side and a large group of staff carrying individuals were pouring out onto the opening, most quickly seeking something that would provide cover. Jeen was shocked that someone would risk a blind opening of a Bypass, not knowing exactly what might be found on the far side.
Kirl wasn’t of a mind to wait any longer, and seeing the large number of guardsmen, he let loose a blast of fireballs, sweeping a half dozen of the archers away as the fiery balls blasted into them. The survivors quickly released their crossbow bolts toward the origin of the fireballs even as they moved toward cover. Diny and Lorl tried to blast the arrows out of the sky, but unlike the arrows they had dealt with back home, many of these refused to succumb to the magic. Several clattered off the rock that Kirl ducked behind just in time.
Seeing the glowing staffs of the enemy wizards, “Casters,” Rigo had called them, Jeen quickly linked with Burke and Tara. She was the strongest in this configuration, and she called upon her Brightfire. Recalling an encounter with the Hoplani long ago, Jeen created a fan of deadly energy, and released a blast that wiped out everything living thing in its path. Four of the enemy Casters were caught in the initial sweep and simply ceased to exist.
There was no time for another sweep as beams of energy blasted toward them from multiple locations. Most of the beams were narrow white beams of Brightfire, but others were red, and one was green. The green blast was particularly worrisome, as it was able to cut deep into the rocks that were being used for protection. Diny created a pillar of swirling fire and directed it toward the hiding place where the green beams had originated. Screams were heard as the intense whirlwind spun through the hiding place, with one Caster running into the open his entire body burning from the intense magical fire. He didn’t know if he’d gotten the Caster producing the green beams, but for now, at least, they stopped.
Within minutes of the start of the fighting, the guardsmen had been killed. Their crossbows and swords were of little use against the magic being exchanged, and each man who had attempted to fire upon the wizards from the Three Kingdoms had quickly been targeted. One of the archers had gotten lucky before he died, and his arrow, heavily covered with runes, had found its mark. Kirl hadn’t been able to duck or stop the arrow, and lay dead with it deep in his chest.
Jeen and her team were badly outnumbered, and the Casters had at least one type of magic they hadn’t seen before. Sooner or later they would blast their way through the rocks that protected them. Diny had already been caught by part of an energy blast, and one arm was badly burned and hanging limply by his side.
“We’re leaving,” Jeen shouted to her team. Quickly she made another Bypass. While she and Burke provided cover as Diny limped through the portal, Lorl bravely leaped over where Kirl had fallen, and throwing the dead wizard over his shoulder, he hurriedly followed Diny through. Tara had run forward while this was happening and grabbed a couple of fallen staffs, then hurried back where her friends were waiting. As one, the last three wizards stepped through and Jeen closed the portal behind them.
“We know they can follow,” Burke yelled as they exited the far side.
“I know,” Jeen said, as she pointed toward the rocks ahead.
“Where are we?” Lorl asked as he set down the inert form of Kirl. He scanned the bubbling lava that extended as far as he could see just behind where the portal had let out.
“This was one of the false directions we took,” Jeen explained. “I want to see if they try that little trick of following us, by opening the portal behind ours which most of their people come through. Burke, make a Bypass back to Oasis Five. We may have to run quickly if this doesn’t work.”
Burke moved back away from the group a short distance and created the requested Bypass. It would be ready if they needed it.
“There’s one,” Tara said and prepared to blast the Caster who stepped through. Jeen told her to wait, and as they watched, the two Casters that stepped through scrambled trying to see where they could hide. Then, a second group came charging through a portal that opened fifty paces behind the first. What they couldn’t have known was that meant they stepped into open air above the pool of lava. As they watched, more than a dozen men and women with staffs plunged into the fiery pit and disappeared.
“Great Risos!” Diny murmured.
It only took a few moments before the stream of humans stopped.
“I think that’s all of them,” Tara said.
Jeen fired a couple of bursts of energy that splashed in the dirt near the two Casters who were exposed in the open. Both looked around and appeared confused by their situation. Finally they blindly fired back and started running along the edge of the chasm.
“Let’s go,” Jeen said, and they quickly jumped through Burke’s Bypass and disappeared.
“I don’t think they could open a Bypass,” she said when they were all safely in Oasis Five. She was healing Diny who despite his pain had continued to function. “We’ll wait here a full glass, then follow the same kind of route that we told Rigo to use to get home. Between the lava, the blocked section of Ruins, and our waiting so they shouldn’t be able to track us, I think we can get home without leaving them a trail to follow.”
A glass and a half later, Lorl picked up Kirl’s body, and they stepped through the first of the Bypass portals they would need to get back to the Outpost.
Chapter 59
The sun was just rising when the full group assembled in Nycoh’s private office to discuss the events surrounding the rescue and the resulting encounter with the Guild’s forces. Several stressful glass had been spent worrying after Rigo and his party had suddenly arrived, while everyone waited for the return of Jeen and the rest of the Outpost’s wizards. The Outpost’s residents had been caught off-guard by the sudden and unexpected return of Rigo and the small group with him. Jeen and her team hadn’t left for the far off land more than a few hours earlier, and no one had expected any action for a number of days while they searched for the location where Rigo’s team was being held. To have Rigo return, and then with the warnings about the Guild’s Casters and that Jeen was somewhere engaged in a battle, had unsettled everyone who became aware of what was happening.
Several times the suggestion was made that they should return to the Ruins to seek out and support the missing team, but there was no way of knowing exactly where they might be by now, and the potential for confusion and greater losses caused Nycoh to override the suggestions. It had only been a few moments ago when Jeen and h
er fellow wizards suddenly appeared out of a Bypass portal. All except Kirl, who was still carried by Lorl, arrived unharmed.
Rigo had been worried sick about Jeen until she suddenly appeared, believing that he should be out there by her side. He was worried enough that he wasn’t even willing to talk with Brice, who miraculously was up and walking. Even after he learned that Daim now occupied the body, which was even more of a mystery, he couldn’t be bothered to pursue the matter just then. When Nycoh called everyone into the meeting, Brice-Daim came along.
Nycoh echoed everyone’s concern when she said, “I’m not comfortable with learning there is some method of tracking the location of the end points of a Bypass. You are certain that those with this ability can jump to a point they have never visited simply by locating where someone else has gone?” Jeen quickly verified that they had been efficiently tracked wherever they went. There was no doubt the capability existed.
Rigo spoke briefly with Fen, who sat nervously beside him. He was overwhelmed by what had happened to him in the short time since he’d headed toward the castle. Here he was, having been struck with magic, somehow completely healed, and now he was on the far side of the Wastelands, in another land, surrounded by a group of wizards who controlled magic in a manner he had never witnessed before.
“Apparently the skill is not widespread, but according to my young friend here, unless the person who creates the Bypass does so in a manner that conceals the end points, then one with the ability can sense where they have gone. It is also possible to sense that a Bypass has been created from some distance, thereby making it possible to monitor such activity within a confined area. Fen says such ability varies, but from what he has read, the trace left by the unmasked Bypass lasts for up to a glass, perhaps a little longer.”
Nycoh looked at Rigo curiously. “I’m impressed with your fluency with the language. Are you certain that this youngster knows what he is talking about, and more importantly that he can be trusted? Lorl has already indicated he was partially responsible for your incarceration. It would be good to learn how to hide the end points as he has said is possible if he truly knows.”
A small smile crossed Rigo’s lips. “I think Fen is quite earnest. He did indeed turn us in, but it was an innocent act. Sedfair is under attack by the Hoplani, and another race of warriors called the Baldari. He lived in a border village, and the citizens were trained to report anything unusual. He had no way of knowing what would happen, nor any means of judging whether we were a threat. As for his knowledge, he reminds me a bit of yourself a few years ago. I sense Fen’s knowledge of magic exceeds his years and experience. He is eager and diligent about learning all he can. I think he would admit anything he didn’t know, and if he claims these abilities exist, it is prudent to assume he is telling the truth.”
“That means we could easily leave a trail that would lead them back to the Three Kingdoms.”
“That is indeed a risk,” Rigo acknowledged. “We took care to mask our trail, but I fear that the way is already known. A lot depends on what they were able to learn from Orna before they killed her.” Rigo explained what little he’d learned about the Reading, and the kind of information he believed had been extracted. He pointed to Burke, who verified that the only locations in the Ruins the Guild’s people appeared to have visited were places that Rigo’s team had passed through.
“This woman, Carif you said she was called, indicated they had traveled far enough into the Ruins they found themselves blocked. That suggests they are unable to pass between locations. They don’t have the capability the staff that Daim created offers.”
“If she was being truthful,” Rigo warned. “Personally, I am quite convinced they are limited. From the more extensive conversations I had with the Queen and with Mitty, there seems little doubt. Still, the Guild has a lot of secrets they hold close. It is possible they know more than they are letting on, and she might have been blocked because they hadn’t been able to extract the required information from Orna before she died. She was quite eager to have a go at me, or Ash’urn.”
“What does your young friend have to say about these Readings?”
Once again, Rigo spoke with Fen. Fen shook his head, and when Rigo translated a moment later everyone already suspected what he would say.
“Fen says he’s heard of the term, but knows nothing about it. It is a capability that only those senior in the Guild know about.”
“Obviously, we need to know whether they have the ability to function in the Ruins, or whether they are restricted to just the untainted zones,” Nycoh said. It would also be useful to know if they do have sufficient knowledge to find their way here. We are going to have to watch our own borders very carefully and see if any of the Guild’s Casters as you call them, arrive. Any trips we make into the Ruins will have to be carefully planned so as not to provide a path back here.” Nycoh hesitated momentarily. “It’s too bad the artifact has gone dark. It might have shown us something useful were it still functional.”
Rigo had asked to see the artifact when Jeen had returned. Burke and Tara had explained to him how it had led them to where he was being held, but once he touched the device, the screen blanked and went dark. Everyone assumed that was because the device had been showing where Rigo was, and bringing them together had somehow shut down the tracking. Since they knew little about the device, it was now an inactive and useless piece of hardware.
“You are certain no one was able to follow you back?” Nycoh asked, the question directed at both Rigo and Jeen. Both explained the means by which they had returned and the precautions taken. Given that most of the Casters that had been after Jeen had ended up in the lake of lava, she was certain they hadn’t been followed. The two who survived the trap appeared incapable of making their own Bypass. I can’t say if that’s because they lacked the ability, Fen indicates not all Casters can do so, or whether it is as we hope they couldn’t function in the dead zone where we left them. In any event, we jumped elsewhere, waited more time than Fen indicated was necessary for the trail to be lost, then returned home. Even then, we jumped through a second dead zone.”
“This is troubling. We know far too little,” Nycoh observed. “We must take precautions. There appears to be hope their knowledge and ability to move through the Ruins is less advanced than our own. Even so, we must plan as though they can make their way here until we have established without a doubt they cannot. Oasis Three and Oasis Four would be the key. To get from the east side of the Ruins to the west side, we always must make a stop at one of those two locations. We always have a team at Oasis Four which is adjacent to the Hoplani Farms. I’ll have someone warn them to be alert to any strangers arriving or passing through. In a similar manner, we must station people at Oasis Three to guard that route as well.”
“Those are the routes we use,” objected Burke, “but if they have something like our amulets, they could seek out another.”
“In which case we have no way to block them,” agreed Nycoh. “That would be very bad.”
“Finding an alternate route between Oasis Five and Oasis Four would be very difficult,” Rigo pointed out. “That was an extremely long span, and had it not been for the Dunerider and the use of the Hoplani, we would not have made it. It’s not impossible obviously, but they would need to be far more skilled than they appear, and be lucky enough to engage a Dunerider to help them.”
“We can only do so much,” Nycoh said. “If they find another way, we will have to find the means to counter it. For now, I want those routes carefully watched, and I want a passageway to and from the Hoplani Farms that is protected.”
Tara spoke up suddenly. “I know a place we can use. There is a dead zone that is quite extensive on this side of Oasis Three. Nearby is a small patch of normal land sitting atop a small hill that overlooks it. From the plain below, it is impossible to see the safe zone. We only found it ourselves by accident. We could have all travelers create a Bypass into the dead zone close to the hill,
and then walk up to the safe zone to continue on. If we place a couple of wizards in the safe zone as watchers, they could monitor to see if anyone followed. They would have a tactical advantage and be able to blast them with full access to magic, while the intruders would have reduced capability because they are in the retarding zone of the Ruins. The added advantage is, that unless anyone following knew what he was doing, he would end up making a Bypass with both ends in the dead zones, which could be very unfortunate for them.”
“Set it up,” Nycoh ordered.
Daim had been silent through the discussions. Now he asked an important question. “Do we really need to fear the people from this land, or were they merely reacting to what they worried might be a threat to them? Your appearance might have sparked the same kind of discussions that we are now having.”
“The political environment is tricky,” Rigo said. He explained the relationships between the various groups as he understood them. He told them how the Guild appeared to be intent on gaining more power, and they were the ones who greeted them with suspicion and fear. The Queen, who is about to be replaced, was more open to the possibility we could be allies. Rigo explained his suspicions that the Queen was secretly building a resistance group against the Guild. He told them about the Caster named Lyes, who was the only person he’d encountered who had the spark of inherent magic like their own. “It’s not developed,” Rigo said. “It is like our own abilities were before Daim originally showed us how to unlock them.”
“Perhaps we should approach her,” Jeen suggested. “If we could aid her, we might be able to forge positive relations there. It would be far better than to have yet another threat to drain our resources. Working together, we might find some solution to the Hoplani. Rigo has indicated they face that same problem.”
